Packaging window shades



Sept. 29, 1953 c. M. JUDD 2,653,710

PACKAGING WINDOW SHADES Filed Sept. 8, 1950 Patented Sept. 25?, 1953 alififliim.

'iLThis 1-relates ".to i'the "packaging 16! wlridow shades sand is particularly directed to a novel :rmethod'of;packaging=replacement sha'desrso that they will remainfree' from wrinlrles creasesar-fd i1nde'sirableundulations.

'An obj ect of .the present invention is to proavide aspackageJ-for replacement shajdes which is --simple an'd'-very inexpensive.

"It is further the object trims invention to pro- -vi'de'a package for window shades which wi-ll pre- 2ventthe shade from being dented orurfdulated in such a'mannerthat it-wvould'havean uneven appearance when hung upon -'-a window frame.

In general, window 'shades of thety-pe to be "packaged 'in the manner =6f this lnvention= are formed of a length of sheet material-which is ffolded cver and sewn along thebottom=edgeto 'form' a pocket whim-extends transverselyofthe length of shade' -matei'ial atone*eridthereof. ii thin wooden or-'fibre-stiifening stripis-inserted 'intothis" pocket in order "to; 'givei'the bottdrndg'e of the shade-more' rigidity so that-'theshaidewill hang straight and hat. "The' top *end ofthe lengthof'shade"material is secured over a shade.

roller, aroundwhich itliswoundwhentheshade is'raised. "It is" the roller, with' its spring mechanism, that *usually "represents -'-the-'-greater part of the'zcost of the shadeuassembly. Therefore,

' In :recent. years, .windowcsshades fabricatedof .:pla-stic compositionsheeizmaterial, suchias' vinyl resin, have becomepopulartonaaccount of their durability, pleasing appearance and low cost. However, plastic sheet materials possess=an=*1mdesirable -'eharacteristie -.wh1ch tends 'to limit their utility in this field, in that they have a pronounced tendency to set if they are dented, bent or warped. This means that if the shade material is creased, or folded over any sort of an irregular form, the sheet itself will retain conforming creases or undulations which are almost impossible to remove. When such fold marks and undulations exist, the shade is not attractive in appearance, and does not hang properly when it is installed upon a window frame.

In the past it has been customary to merely roll replacement shade material upon itself, around the stifiening rod, and then to place a paper wrapper around the outer periphery of the rolled material. When cloth or paper are used as the shade material, this method proves 2 fai'rly satisfactory. :However, when :a :plastic s'sha'del.isrrolledxoversatlthinfistiffening; strip. each L -convolution of "the sheet'rbecomesisetcor dented torconformi'to thesshapexof thezstrip, and wvhen the shade" is 'unrolle'd,fiit:has'a verycunsightly un- 'dulated appearance and cannotibe hung'properly.

.Another method which has been .employed:. in :packaging sha'dereplacements is torollsthez'shade "COVE! a tube with the: pocket and stiffening/strip 'forming'ithemutermost convolution. L'Ihere are, :however, two difiiculties inherent in this'metho'd :of packaging. In' the firstiplace, theiouter convolutions 0f the ''shade, "the ':most likely to I be J.soiled,*are formed from the lower portion at. the shade which is the portion most' visible-in use. Secondly, it is diflicult vto align the sha'de upon the tube sothatitcair'be rolle'd properly to 'form -a cylmde and "even "when the shade is properly *rrolle'dy-the pressure of the stiffening strip against the irolled shade. forms a series of dents across the shade.

The present invention in seeking to-avoid these "-d-ifllcultlesj hassas. one" obj ect 5 the provisionbfi a ircontainer -wh-ich automatically aligns the -sha'de so that it may be properly rolled 'uponit.

'It' is an-additional object of'this invention to lfprovide a package from which the-shademaybe rreadily 'transferredonto a 'roller; the container providing 'a means to help align' the shadeand roller'properly.

These an'cl f additional objects and advantages of "the fs-invention -w ill 'become apparent from a further consideration or the-specifications'in con- 'junctionwith-- the drawings in which Eigure '1"represents an' elevational" view of the contalner -showing-the' longitudinal slot.

-"Fig-ure' 2"is aview similan to-Figure 1=showing a wi-ifdow shade "partially inserted into 1 the con- -tainer.

"i rgure' Iliis=a cross sectiona1view taken-"along line 3-3 of Figure 2, showing the shade partially inserted.

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view similar to Figure 3 but showing a shade completely wound about the container.

Figure 5 is a perspective view showing a method by which the shade may be aligned over a roller as it is removed from the container.

The container consists simply of a hollow tube 10 provided with a slot II which extends longitudinally along its entire length. The tube [0 may be constructed from cardboard, paper or any similar material which is sufliciently stifi to maintain its form so as to permit the shade I2 to be smoothly rolled around the tube. As

shown, the length or the tube I is approximately equal to the width of the shade but if desired, the tube can be made longer so as to protect the edges of the shade from scuifing or crimping. After forming, the tube is slit longitudinally along a line parallel to the tube axis. Due to the resiliency of the cardboard there is a tendency for the two edges l3l3 of the slot to separate slightly from each other thus forming a space through which the shade material II can be readily passed but small enough to prohibit the passage of the stifiening strip 15. In place of first forming a tube and then slitting it, a strip of cardboard or paper may be curled longitudinally into tube configuration, but it is desirable, it this is the case, to provide a tube of circular or regular contour in cross-section,

To package a shade in a container of this type, the pocket 16 containing the stiifening strip 15 is inserted into the tube It and the balance of the shade l2 allowed to extend outwardly through the slot I i. The shade may then if necessary be gently pulled outwardly to cause the stifiening strip [5 to come into contact with the edges l3l3 of the longitudinal slot H, and thus align the strip IS with the axis of the tube I0 and thereby position the shade so that it will roll evenly over the tube, each successive convolution falling exactly over the one preceding it. Finally, the outermost convolution I7 is secured to prevent the rolled sheet from unrolling, as by the application of a paper wrapper or band. An outer protective covering, not shown, such as a cardboard box may be provided to prevent any soilage of the shade.

It will be noted that when a shade is packaged in this manner there are no folds or creases and the rolling is done over a smooth surface. Thus no marks or undulations are formed in the shade which would affect its appearance when it is removed from the package.

Furthermore, the lower portion of the shade, which is the most visible, is placed upon the interior of the roll and is thus least likely to become soiled or defaced,

Finally, it is apparent that the shade may be readily removed from the container, by simply unrolling it whenever it is desired to do so. By placing the rolled shade i2 longitudinally adjacent the roller [8 to which it is to be fastened, the roller axis is aligned in parallelism with the axis of the tube l0, and hence, by merely fastening the outer convolution ll of the shade [2 to the roller i8 when the tube I0 and roller [8 are so positioned, the shade will be automatically aligned upon the roller in such a manner that it will hang in a true vertical plane, without bias.

While this invention has been described particularly with respect to the packaging of re placement shades having stiffening strips preinserted in the pockets thereof, replacement shades without stiffening strips may be packaged in the same manner as those with stiffening strips since the overfold of material forming the pocket creates enough of a bulge that the pocket once inserted into the tube will be constrained by the edges of the slot. Hence, the replacement shade material alone may be sold with the stiffening strip pocket formed but without a stiffening strip inserted therein. In such event, the householders reuse the stiifening slot from the old shade which is being replaced.

Furthermore, while this invention has been described particularly with respect to the concept of packaging plastic shades, it will be understood that it is also useful for packaging shades formed of other materials and many other similar products as well.

Having described my invention, I claim:

A packaged window shade comprising an elongated rigid fibrous tube having two ends, a central recess and a narrow longitudinal slot therein, said slot extending lengthwise of said tube from one end of the tube to the other end of the tube, a window shade including a length of window shade material having a pocket formed at one end thereof, a stiffening strip inserted in said pocket, the opposite end of said shade material being adapted for securance to a shade roller, said pocket being disposed within said tube and the balance of said shade material extending through said slot, said slot being wider than the thickness of said shade and narrower than the width of said stiffening strip whereby said slot is effective to constrain said pocket against lateral escape from said tube, the portion of said shade material disposed exteriorly of said tube being wound in successive convolutions about the tube whereby the free end constitutes the outermost convolution and is thereby accessible for direct attachment to a shade roller without unwinding the balance of the length of material until attachment is completed.

CHARLES M. JUDD.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 17,967 Graves Aug. 11, 1857 481,067 Shirrefi Aug. 16, 1892 1,277,030 Berger Aug. 27, 1918 1,691,414 Thornton Nov. 13, 1928 2,034,471 Joyce Mar. 17, 1936 2,069,300 Carlson Feb. 2, 1937 2,270,043 Fourness Jan. 13, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 226,418 Germany Aug, 15, 1909 

